I only know Akira from full-length anime that I appreciate and adore. It was one of the first Japanese animated films I watched. Repeated last time he looked as well as the first time. I haven’t read the manga before. Although there is a previous edition (1999-2003), I was not satisfied with its format, so I waited for a reissue. And for that you had to wait and wait. JPF went through a real ordeal, as the Japanese side delayed the final approval of the materials for a long time. But finally it is! Managed to!
KANEDA! TETSUO !!!
In the near future … Come back! 2019 year. Almost three decades after the outbreak of World War III. Neo-Tokyo was founded on the ruins of the former capital of Japan. On the one hand, full of skyscrapers and modern technology, on the other, dirty, littered and terrorized by youth gangs. The leader of one of them is Kaneda, the owner of the iconic red motorcycle, known for its memes. He and his team lead a relatively stable life: he calls the teachers, he gets drunk in a pub with his buddies, he attacks a rival gang. Until, during one of the skirmishes, an accident occurs, in which his best friend, Tetsuo, capsizes on his motorcycle trying to avoid a collision with a mysterious boy with the features of an old man. The crash causes psychic powers in Tetsuo, similar to those possessed by the mysterious Akira, responsible for the destruction of the city.
TETSUOOOO! KAAANEEEEEEEEDAAAA !!!
The manga is over two thousand pages long, while the duration of the film is just over two hours, so it’s not surprising that there were many cuts to the original material in the cinema production. The first volume is full of scenes that are not included in the adaptation. The action is completely different: Kaneda meets Kai (a girl from the Resistance) under different conditions, and their relationship gets a better foundation. The conflict between Kaneda and Tetsuo, who in the comics quickly becomes the leader of a rival gang of clowns, also comes much earlier. The action scenes are great, it’s a pity that some elements (such as the duel in the warehouse) never hit the screen.
However, I am disappointed with how little space was devoted to the relationship between the boys before the incident on the highway. It is even less than in the movie. Before the accident, Tetsuo was just one of the gang members, and the fact that he and the main character had a friendship we learn from later dialogues. I have the impression that the action takes place a bit too quickly here, which makes it hard to sympathize with a boy endowed with destructive powers. Despite committing terrible things, he is, after all, an involuntary victim of the experiment.
A characteristic element of the film are also psychedelic scenes, which in the comic book … you won’t find it. It is possible that it is too early for this in terms of storylines and they will appear in subsequent volumes.
Tetsuo Shima !!!, Shotaro Kaneda !!! *
Otomo’s line, despite the fact that it is almost 40 years old on the nape (if they have such lines on the neck), did not get old at all. It is still a master level in which the action scenes are dynamic, the frames are transparent, and all technology is put into action with incredible precision. Mangaka also has its own characteristic way of drawing characters (with puffy noses) which I like very much. Although I must admit that individual gang members are similar to each other (except for Tetsuo, that’s probably why he chose the dark path), and the character of Kai is not much different from them. They all wear similar hairstyles for some reason.
JPF was not allowed to crack onomatopoeia (fans of Jojo Bizzare Adventure are probably very jealous of this situation), and there are a lot of them here. Just like graffiti, an asterisk appears next to each of them, referring to the translation at the end of the volume. The inscriptions on the walls do not play a major role, they rather enrich the presented world. And this type of switching from the main plot to the footnotes on the last page breaks the rhythm of the reader. Of course, it is difficult to blame the Polish publisher here; I only show how important translations of texts other than dialogues are in the manga.
KAAAAAAAAAANEEEEEEEEEEEEDAAAAAAAAAA !!! TEEEEEEEEEETSUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!
Akira’s first volume is great reading. Yes, far more modest and less psychedelic than the movie; ending where things still have a more local dimension. However, lovers of destruction and cyberpunk should be content with what they get. A must for all fans of Japanese comics.
